1H NMR and Differential Scanning Calorimetry Studies of Molecular Motion and Phase Transition in Butylammonium Iodide

Abstract

The temperature variations of 1H NMR spin-lattice relaxation times and 1H NMR second moments in n-C4H9NH3I and its N-deuterated analog were studied in a wide range of temperatures above 77 K. DTA experiments revealed a solid-solid phase transition between room and low temperature phases taking place at 268 K for the former salt and at 267 K for the latter. For rapidly cooled ( ≳ 2 Kmin-1 ) samples, another phase transition possibly between substable low temperature phases was found at ca. 210 K for the former and ca. 205 K for the latter. The transition entropy observed at 268 K was 33 J K-1 mol-1. This is much larger than the melting entropy (16 J K-1 mol-1), suggesting that butylammonium ions obtain their motional freedom mostly at the phase transition. In the low temperature phase of n-C4H9NH3I, the CH3 and NH3 + groups perform C3 reorientation about their respective symmetry axes with the activation energies 10.4 and 26.8kJmol-1, respectively. The rapidly cooled sample showed two T1 components attributable to the stable and substable low temperature phases indicating the coexistence of both phases. In the room temperature phase, the cations rotate rapidly about their long axes and partly conformational disorder of the alkyl chains takes place. The mechanism of the phase transitions is discussed.